Anvil ID & fix up question

[jimmy seale]

fx,far be it for me to say, new though,so??? but if any of them need a loving home i'll make room,let us know how the trial runs go.good luck,jimmy

[ThomasPowers]

Victor, if they do do a leftover pour of a good alloy then the anvil will be decent with some clean up work. If you can find the foundry and talk with them and get them to alert you when that happens....I'll keep my eyes/ears open...

Thomas

[FredlyFX]

I talked with the guy I bought the anvil from and all he knows is that it came from AZ. He has a retired guy that drives around all the western states pulling a heavy trailor. My guy will buy anything blacksmithing from him to sell in his flea market/antuiqe store. Having looked at what he had available in his small new location near me, I think it may warrant a drive to his full size main location to have a look see. The same time I picked up this anvil I also got a large Pexto stake plate and a stake for $25 from him, so he has some good stuff, and is not looking for ebay prices for it.

I talked with a machinest friend on Wednesday, and we will be machining the face flat probably next weekend in exchange for me helping him build a small gantry crane over his mill so he can get larger items into it. I'll be doing the base myself with brinders and belt sanders, but he will do the face. I am hoping it will be usable once that is done, and will report back once I have it done.

[Wim]

I have a Peter Wright 450 lbs with badly worn edge on the back of the face. There is no edge left the first six inches from the horn, and toward the heel a large radius. I need a sharp edge on that side. What do you recommend? I understand the value of my anvil (hystorically) and don't want to ruin it.

[FredlyFX]

I would reccomend getting a second anvil with good edges. If all you are looking for is a good sharp edge, then you don't need a real anvil. Check out the local scrap yard for a large solid cutoff you can set down on end. Make some type of stand to hold it upright and you will be set. If it were say 4 or 6 inches square, you could actually grind 4 different radi on it and have a nice set up for those operations that require the edge.

Or, just learn to work around what you have. Even if you were not concerned about historical value of your anvil, repairs can be iffy. Some work great, and others fail misurably. It's kind of a crap shoot.

[ThomasPowers]

Make a hardy tool with the edge you need---with a little planning you could make it with *4* edges of different crispnesses and just rotate as needed.


or as Fredly suggests: something like a nice chunk of 2" plate in a heavy postvise has possibilities

How about a fork lift time? They can be quite heavy, made from good steel heat treated *tough*, and will have good edges. I've scrounged several over the years for free---talk with a forklift service plcae about getting a broken one---explain what you are doing so they are not woried about you trying to re-use it on a forklift...

Thomas

[Wim]

Thanks Fredly, Thomas, I have my smithy in the back of a friend's workshop who fixes forklifts, very good idea. I like the idea of making a hardy tool with different edges that i can rotate.

[clang]

Wim;
I think you will find the large radiuses on the far side of your anvil are very useful indeed.
I use mine with a cross peen for drawing all the time. clang

[Wim]

Clang, thank you, really exciting to be communicating with you, way over in the Pacific. I will keep that in mind.
Wim.